


How you win at court

by Fornwich (Remigius)



Category: GreedFall (Video Game)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, M/M, No really they earned that tag, Prince D'Orsay is an asshole, Regulus De Sardet, Royalty, marriage of necessity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29237466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remigius/pseuds/Fornwich
Summary: Prince D'Orsay chooses to make De Sardet his heir instead of his trueborn son. While a relief to Constantin, De Sardet isn't so happy about it.In an effort to get out of a marriage that his uncle is arranging, De Sardet chooses to exploit the oldest trick in the book: he can't be arranged a marriage if he's already in one.
Relationships: Kurt/De Sardet (GreedFall)
Kudos: 14





	How you win at court

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyJemsie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyJemsie/gifts).



> Thank you Jem for enabling me to write this out instead of letting this AU live rent-free in my head.

“Kurt, will you come with me?” De Sardet asks, his face so absolutely neutral that Kurt is deeply concerned as he follows after him without question. De Sardet opens the door to his room, closing it behind both of them.

He’s silent for a very long time, long enough that Kurt almost breaks the silence before De Sardet states emotionlessly, “The King is dead.”

“Oh.” Kurt frowns deeply, “Green Blood…”

“There’s more. My uncle has requested that I return to Serene.”

“We’re months away, we won’t make it in time for the pyre ceremony unless they preserve—”

“My grandfather’s dying wish was that I be given the title of Prince in my uncle’s stead. Instead of Constantin. My uncle acquiesced, Enlightened only knows why.”

Kurt raises his eyebrows, stunned. “Should I call you ‘Your Royal Highness’?”

“Haha, blow off. No. That’s not why I brought you in here. I have a favor to ask, and unfortunately it is a very big one.”

Kurt crosses his arms, “Ask away, Green Blood. You’ve done more for me than I can ever thank you for. I owe you.”

De Sardet looks deeply uncomfortable by that, “You can’t agree to this unless you’re absolutely and completely sure of the answer. The ship to Serene leaves in four days.”

“I will come with you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I wish it were that simple.” De Sardet says, solemnly. “My uncle did that for a reason. You see, I turned down all the proposals that have been sent to me. Dueled most of them in person for my own honor, I was well known for it in Serene.”

“I remember.”

“My uncle only gave me four days because Nauts would not marry royalty on their ships, they don’t often even interact with nobles. Even given the circumstances of my birth, it’s in their best interest that they don’t involve themselves with royal affairs. Unless I legally marry in the next four days, when I arrive in Serene my uncle will have a specific match made for me that I cannot decline. Someone loyal to him, and only him, in an effort to control me and keep me ‘in my place’. Because of the precariousness nature of my claim to the throne—as Constantin  _ could _ challenge me as blood heir, I have to be married to solidify my rule.”

Kurt stares at him, “You’re asking me to  _ marry  _ you?”

“I’m asking you to sign all of the marriage documents, yes.”

“Which is marrying you.”

“Yes.” He looks completely and utterly exhausted, “It’s a heavy and terrible thing to ask of you. I’m very sorry. I’ve thought this through since they informed me this morning, I’ve laid out every possibility, every concern every thought I possibly can and run through it a thousand times. It all comes to the same conclusion. I trust you; you’ve protected me and been at my side for the last decade. To be frank, you stand to gain much from this. The royal family hasn’t had someone marry a commoner in quite some time, and honestly it will cause a scandal. I don’t care. I’d much rather be married to someone I know won’t disembowel me for fun because my uncle told her to.”

“That’s a rather low bar, Green Blood.”

De Sardet gives an incredibly poor attempt at a laugh, “You deserve better than me, we both know that. You are the most honorable and brave man I’ve ever known, and it’s not fair to ask of you. All I… request is that you think about it. There are a few days. If it’s a no, I understand completely and it doesn’t change anything—”

“You decided against asking Vasco why?”

“He is a Naut, he loves the sea. Marrying me would landlock him forever. I could never ask him to do that for me.”

“He would. On top of that, he’s merchant family blood.”

“His family would only legitimize him to challenge me for the throne. And I refuse to ask.” De Sardet says, looking down at his hands. “I know that marrying me would damn you to unhappiness Kurt, but if it’s any consolation… I feel like a horrible person for asking.”

“I don’t need to think about it,” Kurt tells him, “I will do it.”

“That is a  _ lot  _ to accept without having time to think.” De Sardet frowns, “Please at least take a day to consider.”

“You don’t have time to wait for me to consider even if I were unsure. If you want your uncle to believe we’ve been married, there is paperwork to write up. Rings to craft.”

“A family ring for you.” De Sardet agrees, still in that tired tone of voice. “Yes, that is true. It takes time to set so many gems in one piece.”

“Is that really necessary?” Kurt asks, looking at the ring on De Sardet’s finger. Gaudy, purple gems glittering. No one could possibly mistake him for anything less than a noble if they looked at his hand.

“You know the court,” De Sardet states, flatly. “It is. Family crests are important, rings are statement pieces.”

Kurt sighs, “I will do it, Green Blood. I want you to know that it’s solely for you. No other reason.”

De Sardet nods, looking out the window of his room. “Then I owe you a life debt I can never repay.”

“No. You don’t. For all you’ve done for me, I’d say it’s rather even.”

“Being related to my uncle? You don’t understand.” De Sardet’s voice grows dark, “Trust me that I owe you more than you can possibly imagine.” 

*

De Sardet looks so abjectly miserable that Kurt almost feels bad for literally carrying him away from the piles upon piles upon his desk, especially because he strongly suspects De Sardet has only been spending so much time working on it to avoid him. He’s been waiting for weeks to sit and talk with De Sardet, but he only shows up late in the night to sleep on the seat next to the fire in their sidechamber before disappearing again before Kurt wakes up.

He’s tired of it.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” He asks now that he has De Sardet’s undivided attention whether he wants to give it or not. De Sardet immediately breaks eye contact with him, looking somewhere just past his left arm as if the wall has suddenly become incredibly interesting.

“There’s a lot I’ve had to do. My uncle was on top of all of his contracts, but it’s not easy instilling a new ruler and—”

“Cut the bullshit, De Sardet.” Kurt snaps, because De Sardet can placate the court with that appeasing tone of voice but he’ll be damned if he allows De Sardet to use it on him. He wasn’t highborn, he’s known De Sardet for over a decade. He knows De Sardet better than nearly anyone, and this sudden aversion to him isn’t new but it is incredibly irritating. “Tell me why.”

De Sardet, to his credit, only turns his gaze into Kurt’s face with an incredibly annoyed expression but at least he’s making eye contact. An improvement from a mere moment ago. “Look,” he says, tone measured, “I’m aware that you don’t like me. I’m aware you married me as a favor to me because I asked, because I trust you and being paranoid about being killed every night wouldn’t have helped anyone if I’d ruled with someone I didn’t know and didn’t care about. I know that this position has benefits to you, and I’m happy that you finally get the recognition you deserve. You’ve always been an honorable man, and now the merchant families can’t look down on you because your rank is above them. As it should be. I’m trying not to get in your way. Marriages for nobles are often political, and I knew going into this that it was one-sided. I’m grieving my grandfather—who never even knew he wasn’t my trueborn grandfather for the record, and I’m tired. Really tired. So, forgive me if I haven’t  _ quite  _ been myself for the past few days. I’ll get over it.”

Kurt raises his eyebrows, “You’ve made a lot of assumptions, and they’re wrong.”

De Sardet frowns at him, “Am I?” He asks, but his tone is so deeply melancholic that Kurt is taken off-guard. “I’ve asked too much of you already Kurt, I know. I hope one day I can pay you back for the misery of marrying into this godforsaken family as well as the punishment of being married to me.”

Kurt gently pushes De Sardet to sit down on the chair. He does without resistance. “If I didn’t like you, I would never have married you. No matter what advantages it does or doesn’t have. I didn’t do this for the title. I didn’t  _ need _ a surname, or a royal title. Becoming your husband has forced me out of the Guard in ways I didn’t necessarily anticipate, because guard business stays in the guard. I’m no longer a guardsman. I’m sorry for your grandfather, Green Blood. I truly am. Auberon was one of the few people you seemed to care about.”

“I did.” De Sardet says, very softly. “He truly loved me. You know that he gifted me my middle name, said that he saw something in me that he didn’t see in Constantin. He didn’t know why I was named Regulus… no one knew about my true origins at that point, that the Nauts on the ship named me and my… adopted mother decided to keep it. He gave me his name as my middle name because he believed I was destined to do great things. He wanted to share that legacy. That’s what he told me. That I would become someone he admired.” De Sardet shrugs one shoulder, “I hope that I made him proud.”

“He wouldn’t have asked you to become prince if he wasn’t.”

“He didn’t know me at the end of his life. We haven’t seen each other since my twentieth birthday. He was too busy in Gacane, and my uncle was too hard on me then to allow me to travel to see him. Auberon still sent me letters and gifts of course, but… I wasn’t there. When he grew sick. When he died. I’ll never know if he saw in me now what he did when I was younger.”

“Having known you since you were fourteen, I’d wager he’d probably be even prouder of you now than he was back then. You accomplished a lot as Legate.”

“I became jaded.” De Sardet says, looking down at his lap. “Constantin is happier as governor, I wanted him to be able to live the life he wanted…”

“What do you want?” Kurt asks him. De Sardet sighs, quietly.

“I can’t have what I want, Kurt. I would really rather not even talk about it. It didn’t go well in the past.”

Kurt knows immediately he’s referring to the last time De Sardet inadvertently admitted his feelings in the middle of a yelling match with him. He was right, it hadn’t gone well. Kurt has had a lot of time to think since that point, a lot of clarity of De Sardet’s presence in his life and what it means to him.

He also knows that De Sardet will never try again. The matter was dropped with such finality, De Sardet’s attitude toward him changed so drastically that he knows that De Sardet took his reaction as a final answer. A permanent divide between them that he only bridged out of desperation to avoid his uncle putting yet another leash on him with a political marriage. He was happy to help De Sardet with that, but it’s become increasingly obvious that De Sardet doesn’t know  _ why _ he truly agreed.

He carefully puts a hand on De Sardet’s knee. He seems to take it as a comforting gesture but doesn’t look at Kurt.

“Will you do me a favor?”

De Sardet nods silently.

“Will you please stop avoiding me?” Kurt asks, “And stop sleeping on this chair. You look like you haven’t had a proper sleep in a long time, and I know for a fact that chair was meant for some light reading for a few hours. Not to sleep in.”

De Sardet smiles ruefully, “We have one bed, Kurt.”

“I’m not  _ that _ big.” Kurt informs him.

“You would have to sleep next to me. Everyone knows I have… problems latching on in my sleep. Síora used to call me her extra blanket.”

“Yes, I’m absolutely making this request because that bothers me.” Kurt says, with far more sarcasm than he actually intended. “I’m aware of that, Green Blood. Get some proper sleep.”

“You’re royal now,” De Sardet informs him, “Green Blood no longer works as an insult.”

“It was always closer to a pet name.” Kurt admits, “Just as Constantin was our fledgling.”

“Fuck.” De Sardet says, with feeling. “I’m sorry, I’m still sleeping in the chair.”

“You take the bed. If it means that much to you, I’ll sleep in the chair.”

“ _ No _ .” De Sardet says, on the verge of anger. “Keep the fucking bed Kurt.”

“Why is that so important to you? Does the thought of me touching you bother you?” He pats his hand on De Sardet’s knee, “Because—”

“Yes, it does.” De Sardet tells him, pushing Kurt’s hand from his leg. “Because you’re  _ you _ and I can’t have you. Because the thought of being close to you is unbearable, and I’m an idiot. I trust you; I know you would never hurt me or betray me. You’re always the first choice of anyone I ever could have married but Enlightened it sure would have been easier were I a woman.”

Kurt tilts his head at that, “What does that mean?”

“Just… forget it.”

“No, I really want to know what you meant by that. Would you… rather have been born a woman?” He words it carefully, unsure of the proper terminology there but trying for respectful.

“No, I’m happy being a man. But you may have felt different about me had I not been.”

Kurt very nearly laughs, “Regulus. I  _ married _ you knowing full well you’re a man.”

De Sardet narrows his eyes, “Because I requested it of you. You’re a good person, Kurt. I’ll never ask anything of you again.”

“What if I want you to ask me for things?”

“Again, it’s punishment enough being my husband. Being… related to my uncle.”

“I won’t deny your uncle is a terrible person.” Kurt moves closer, ever so slightly, “Again, you’re making assumptions that aren’t true.”

De Sardet throws his hands out in a gesture of frustration, away from Kurt. “I didn’t even want to talk about this, why are we talking about this?”

“Because maybe you should ask me how I feel about you, De Sardet, before you assume that you know what I feel.”

“I would genuinely rather you tie me to horses, draw and quarter me while I’m still alive.” De Sardet says flatly, “Having seen the horrible, horrible room in the phantom camp, I would  _ still _ rather be tortured than have a repeat of the argument we had after I was shot.”

Kurt sighs, heart sinking. “We won’t rehash that argument.”

“Great, let’s just leave it at pity and call it a night.”

“Goddamnit, Regulus.” Kurt gently grabs De Sardet’s face, holding him still as he leans in and kisses him on the mouth. De Sardet freezes, though his cheeks are much more pink when Kurt pulls back to look at him.

His voice incredibly shaky he quietly says, “Right, have to keep up the pretenses.” 

“We're alone.” He kisses De Sardet again, gently.

“Wait wait, wait. I don't want this to be me pressuring you—"

“You're interrupting  _ me _ attempting to kiss you. You're not pressuring me into anything.”

De Sardet stares at him, looking completely and utterly confused, “But.... but you didn't want me before and—"

“So people can never change? I know your uncle is a constant asshole but believe it or not, sometimes people do change. We both have. And I like you.”

De Sardet puts on that face again, the one that looks so pathetically sad that it looks like it belongs on a pup left out in the street, “Please don't be fucking with me.”

It’s too good of an opportunity, “I'll only fuck you if you want me to.”

De Sardet murmurs, “Holy shit.” He carefully leans closer, as if he’s still afraid that Kurt will stand up, pull away from him, act like it was some sort of awful joke on him.

Instead, Kurt rests his hand carefully on De Sardet’s hip, leans the rest of the distance to close the gap between them and kiss him again. This time De Sardet puts his arms around Kurt’s neck, allowing Kurt to kiss him until they’re both breathless.

“Will you come to bed?” Kurt asks him, very quietly. “I promise I don’t mind if you latch on to me.”

De Sardet laughs, and oddly looks on the verge of tears. “…Okay. I will.”

“Why are you sad?” Kurt asks him, touching his cheek as a lone tear breaks free down his soft skin.

“…I’m happy.” De Sardet tells him, clearing his throat. “It’s definitely not sad tears. They’re much uglier.”

Kurt scoffs, stroking his cheek gently. “There has never been a time anyone could call you ugly.”

De Sardet closes his eyes at that, making a pained sort of face before he hugs Kurt to him tightly and tucks his face against Kurt’s neck. He holds De Sardet there for a long moment, his dark hair soft and warm against Kurt’s cheek. He sniffs slightly, murmurs something Kurt can’t quite hear, wiping his face.

“What was that?”

“I said that it’s a compliment, coming from a handsome man like you.”

Kurt rolls his eyes, “Sure, Regulus.”

“Reggie.” He corrects, “And I meant it.”

“I thought you were fond of your name.” Kurt stands, offering De Sardet his hand to help him up.

“I am,” De Sardet takes it, letting Kurt pull him to his feet, “but it sounds like I’m in trouble with the way you say my name.”

“Maybe you are.”

De Sardet rolls his eyes this time, “Oh no, I feel so very threatened. I’m quaking.”

Well, if there were ever a time for De Sardet to know Kurt was serious about his feelings.

“You will be when I’m done with you.”

De Sardet stops, his expression delighted for perhaps the first time in months. “Oh  _ really _ ?” He asks, immediately swerving toward coy with an eyelash bat at him that is—admittedly—cute. “Now that’s the kind of stabbing I’d be delighted to get.”

Kurt is so taken off-guard that he laughs, “That is a truly unromantic way to word it, congratulations.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” De Sardet finishes the last few strides to their bed before throwing himself across it in the most dramatic fashion possible before sprawling in a seductive pose, “make love to me, my handsome ravishing husband.”

It’s the happiest and most De Sardet-like that he has been in a long time. A heavy sort of relief washes through Kurt’s chest, making his heart ache.

“ _ Wow _ .” Kurt says with a snort.

“You signed up for this,” De Sardet reminds him, “literally. For the rest of our lives, even.”

“Do I regret it? Amazingly, no.”

De Sardet’s expression softens again as Kurt reaches down for him, kissing him on the mouth.


End file.
